It is impossible to join Customs Union partially, Medvedev reiterates

The Prime Minister of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, said this speaking at the Gaidar Forum in Moscow on January 16, UKRINFORM informs.

"Our partners have not only to share the principles of the Customs Union, but also to be ready to implement them. When joining the Customs Union they should sign all documents, not just some of them," he said.

On top Medvedev stressed that the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space are open to other states. "These are open projects, especially for the EurAsEC and CIS states," he said.

Russia's prime minister emphasized that the question of choosing between the western, eastern, northern and southern areas of integration is far-fetched and over-politicized.

"We need to turn away from this. It is important both for us and for our neighbors. We need to harmonize our efforts in all directions and form a modern model of integration, which would be the most relevant response to the global challenges," he said.

As reported, the Ukrainian authorities support the idea of cooperation with the Customs Union in the 3+1 format. This implies partial integration of Ukraine into the union, but without a full membership. At the same time, Russia and the European Union have repeatedly warned the Ukrainian authorities that they will have to choose only one association.